Princess Kate Paid the Tab for Soldiers to Enjoy 700 Pints of Guinness After Being Forced to Miss Out on St. Patrick’s Day Parade This Year

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published 21 March 2024

Because of her ongoing recovery from abdominal surgery, Princess Kate was forced to miss the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade she attends every year through her role as honorary Colonel of the Irish Guards; last Sunday was the first parade she’d missed in seven years, The Sun reports.

The parade, naturally, was this past Sunday, and though Kate wasn’t there physically, her presence was certainly felt—The Daily Mail reports she put around $2,500 toward the bill at the regimental bar in Aldershot so soldiers could enjoy pints of Guinness to celebrate the occasion at the post-parade party. (Now that’s pretty cool.) The Daily Mail calculated that, with that amount of money spent, the soldiers were treated to “at least 700 pints” of Guinness.

Perhaps not surprisingly, The Sun reports “Members from the Irish Guards gave three cheers to absent Kate—raising their bearskin helmets into the air as a mark of respect.”

Kate was given this appointment by her father-in-law, King Charles, in December 2022, so last year’s parade was her first St. Patrick’s Day parade since being given the honorary Colonel of the Irish Guards title. However, People reports, she has attended the parade multiple times before alongside her husband Prince William, who held the position before her. William previously said that this appointment was one of the “great honors of my life.”

“Princess Kate’s traditional role of handing out shamrock sprigs for the guards to pin on their uniforms was carried out this year by Lady Ghika, wife of the Regimental Lieutenant Colonel, Major General Sir Christopher Ghika,” People reports. “In addition to issuing the shamrocks, dog lover Kate would usually greet Irish wolfhound Turlough Mor, who is known as Seamus. As Colonel, she’d also receive the royal salute.”

In addition to helping with the bar tab, William and Kate also posted about the Irish Guards on their shared Instagram: “Happy St Patrick’s Day!” they wrote. “Here’s a sneak peek of the @irishguards rehearsing for their annual parade. Sláinte to all those celebrating today!”

Yep, we’ll drink to that!

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.

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